More Kaleponi News

July 1, 2008

World's Record

The folks in Concord, CA have a free concert series every summer (no Hawaiian music that I know of, too bad) and this year was the 20th anniversary of the series. To mark the occasion, they set out to break the official Guinness World Record for largest guitar ensemble. Over 2000 guitarists came together to play and sing "This Land Is Your Land" led by Country Joe McDonald. The San Francisco Chronicle even wrote a brief article about the event. I had to attend, just to make sure someone played the song slack key style!

May 29, 2008

Hula Show

Although I love slack key solo instrumentals as much as anyone, the original use of the style was to accompany singing and hula, so I'm honored to be invited to play and sing for a hula performance. Na Mamo No`Eau, a halau located here in Walnut Creek, CA, will be presenting Huaka`i - Journeys at the Del Valle Theater on Saturday, May 31. I'll provide the accompaniment for their Papalina Lahilahi at both their 2PM and 8PM shows. I'll also be doing slack key instrumentals in the lobby before each show.

May 15, 2008

Summer Music

With the burst of warm weather more people are inviting me to play a little slack key background music. Last weekend I had a great time playing at the Judd's Hill Mother's Day Pickup Party. Judd and Holly are big fans of Hawaiian music, we met them through Mike Kaawa.

Coming up this Saturday I'll be performing at the Peasant and the Pear, a lovely restaurant in Danville. If you're thinking of dining out on Saturday, you might enjoy some slack key with your dinner.

Feb 28, 2008

The Passing of Hawaiian Music Legends

This has been a sad week in the Hawaiian music community. Two legendary artists, Auntie Genoa Keawe and Uncle Raymond Kane, left us. Auntie Genoa, with her lively falsetto and classic hula repertoire, performed regularly until very near the end. Uncle Ray had been less active in the last few years but still shared his knowledge and love of the music with eager students from around the world. This sad circumstance reminds me that there are a number of other great artists performing today who won't be with us forever, so we should cherish our opportunities to see them when we can.

Feb 16, 2008

Around the Bay with Led and Mike

We took a whirlwind tour around the San Francisco Bay over the last few days. Our first stop was Don Quixote's in Felton, near Santa Cruz. The crowd was large and enthusiastic. Then on Valentine's Day we played to a sold out crowd at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City. We met several of our Taropatch buddies at this show, and at the next one. On Friday we played at the Palms Playhouse in Winters. This is a great old room and nearly every seat sold here as well. The last two stops of the tour are in Marin County, and we'll be attending the shows but not performing.

Feb 10, 2008

Freight & Salvage Sellout

Berkeley's Freight & Salvage Coffee House is a Bay Area institution, so it was gratifying to find a sellout crowd even for a Sunday evening show. Big thanks to everyone who made the time and spent the energy to join us. Mike and Led are having as much fun as the audience at these shows, and that's a lot of fun. I'm opening three more shows, then Led and Mike will do two Marin County shows with other openers. Please visit our performance calendar for more information.

Feb 09, 2008

Big Fun in the Northwest

What a great trip we had to Portland and Eugene. I stopped in at the monthly meeting of the Portland Guitar Society where I played a little slack key for about 100 guitar enthusiasts. We were able to bring some old friends to see Led and Mike at the Mississippi Studios show in Portland and naturally they were blown away. Then in Eugene we met some online friends for the first time. Starting Sunday, February 10th I'll be opening at various venues around the San Francisco Bay Area. Please visit our performance calendar for more information.

Feb 02, 2008

Off to Open for Led

We're excitedly buying airline tickets and making reservations for the trip to Portland, OR where I'll be opening for Led Kaapana and Mike Kaawa. After two shows in Oregon I'll be opening a few shows around the SF Bay Area. Check the calendar for more information.

Jan 14, 2008

New YouTube Clips

Lynnie has been helping with the video and we've put a couple of new clips up on my YouTube channel. "Grandfather's Clock" is from the Led Kaapana tour. I opened his show at Don Quixote's in Felton, CA. "Salomila" was shot in our bedroom in responce to a request. Both of these videos are now posted on the Kaleponi Music page as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Jan 6, 2008

A Column in the Feb 2008 Acoustic Guitar Magazine

I'm always looking for ways to spread the word about slack key and Hawaiian music, so I was excited when the editors of Acoustic Guitar Magazine asked me to write an instructional column. I provided some tips and a transcription of "Salomila" for their Woodshed Column in the February 2008 issue.

If you're a subscriber, I hope you enjoy the column and I encourage you to contact the magazine and express your support for articles about Hawaiian music and slack key. If you're not, perhaps you could pick up the issue and take a stab at the song yourself. Of course, if you don't play guitar at all, skip the whole thing and save your money for the next Led Kaapana tour!!!

More Kaleponi News - 2007